TOTTENHAM have dropped their interest in signing Philippe Coutinho – as boss Jose Mourinho fears his sky-high wages will cause a mutiny among his players.
Barcelona attacker Coutinho is available for around £80million or a £9m season-long loan but he would want more than the £200,000-a-week Spurs pay their top-bracket stars including Harry Kane.
Spurs boss Jose Mourinho has put block on loan deal for Philippe Coutinho
That would breach the pay wall and Spanish media outlet Mundo Deportivo claim Mourinho is not prepared to do that and upset the rest of his stars, who would demand pay hikes.
Arsenal were battling their London rivals for Coutinho’s signature in a loan deal.
Liverpool and Chelsea are also thought to be interested in the player, who has spent his season on loan at Bayern Munich.
The Germans paid around £8m for Coutinho’s services for the campaign.
Spurs might have to fork out around £9m for next season to take the 27-year-old Brazilian.
Although that would be a figure Spurs bean counters would be agreeable with, Mourinho feels the talisman’s wages would be a huge stumbling block.
Mundo Deportivo said: “The reason for their refusal is simple.
“The Azulgrana midfielder has a crack file and Mourinho does not want comparisons or that the rest of the salaries shoot up.”
Barca paid Liverpool £145m for Coutinho in 2018 but he has struggled to nail down a starting spot at the Nou Camp.
Spurs could have signed him permanently last summer but White Hart Lane chief Daniel Levy was said to have baulked on the wages he wanted.
Mourinho’s decision opens the door up for Gunners boss Mikel Arteta to snap up a player who scored 26 goals in his last season in England.
But if a club are willing to pay the £80m Barca want, he can go permanently – and that could open the door for Newcastle.
Chelsea ‘close’ to sealing Philippe Coutinho transfer as agreement grows near with Barcelona amid interest from Arsenal
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
